Choose life

You may have heard or read about Alton Logan, a man convicted of killing a security guard at a McDonald’s in Chicago in 1982. He was sentenced to life in prison only because two of the twelve jurors opted against the death penalty. It turns out that two lawyers, who were defending another client, knew that Alton Logan was innocent because they heard their client confess to the crime. Bound by confidentiality, they were unable to come forward until the real killer gave permission for them to come forward after his death. You may have seen the story on 60 Minutes earlier this month.

Now, I’ve read that, despite mounting evidence suggesting his innocence, the state of Georgia plans to execute Troy Davis. This week, the Georgia Supreme Court decided to let the death sentence stand in this case in a 4-3 vote. Back in July 2007, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole stated that it “will not allow an execution to proceed in this State unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused.”

From the Amnesty International page: “The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even during the trial. Since then, all but two of the state’s nine non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony. Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.” One can follow the link above and contact the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole and ask for a stay of execution. Executing the wrong man does not provide justice to Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail.

These two cases, and many like them, have made the death penalty untenable for me.